Gene Leroy Green (June 26, 1933 – May 23, 1981) was an American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

and

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

who played all or portions of seven

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

seasons for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

(–),

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

(), Washington Senators (),

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

(–) and

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

(1963). A right-handed batter and thrower, he stood tall and weighed .

MLB career

Born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, Green was signed by the Cardinals in 1952. He spent six full years in the Redbird

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

, hitting over 20

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

four times,"Gene Green Minor & Winter League Statistics"

Baseball Reference Baseball Reference is a baseball statistics database maintained by Sports Reference. The site provides career statistics for Major League Baseball (MLB) players and teams as well as records, MLB draft history, and sabermetrics. History Founder ...

before his recall to St. Louis in September 1957. He then spent all of the season on the Cardinal roster, setting career bests in

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Associat ...

(137),

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

(124), and

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(.281), starting 71 games in

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In t ...

and 48 as catcher. However, he struggled in 1959: he got into only 30 games for St. Louis, spent the heart of that season in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

, and was traded to the Orioles in December. Baltimore kept him at Triple-A for the full 1960 campaign, except for a September call-up and one game as the Orioles' starting right fielder on September 23. But the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

was adding two new teams for 1961, including an

expansion Expansion may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''L'Expansion'', a French monthly business magazine * ''Expansion'' (album), by American jazz pianist Dave Burrell, released in 2004 * ''Expansions'' (McCoy Tyner album), 1970 * ''Expansi ...

edition of the Washington Senators, creating an opportunity for Green to regain a big-league job. He was the new Senators' 23rd selection (46th overall) in the

expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or sports franchising, franchises. This occurs mainly in Sports in North America, North American sports and closed leagues. O ...

, then led the 1961 club in home runs (18), a personal best, and

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at-bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at-bats for a given player, an ...

(.489). He started 75 games at catcher and 21 more in right field. His 62

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

, also a career high, were one fewer than team leader

Willie Tasby Willie Tasby Jr. (January 8, 1933 – April 3, 2022) was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who appeared in 583 games as a member of the Baltimore Orioles (–), Boston Red Sox (1960), Washington Senators (–) and Cleveland ...

's 63. With Washington seeking to improve its ninth-place roster, he was traded to the Indians on October 5, only four days after the end of the regular season; in the deal, Green, veteran

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Dick Donovan (the AL

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

champion), and backup

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

Jim Mahoney James Thomas Mahoney (born May 26, 1934) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop. He was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies before the 1953 season and played for the Boston Red Sox (1959), Washington Senators (1961), Cleveland Indians (19 ...

were exchanged for colorful

centerfielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ce ...

Jimmy Piersall James Anthony Piersall (November 14, 1929 – June 3, 2017) was an American baseball center fielder who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for five teams, from 1950 through 1967. Piersall was best known for his well-publicized b ...

. In a

utility In economics, utility is a measure of a certain person's satisfaction from a certain state of the world. Over time, the term has been used with at least two meanings. * In a normative context, utility refers to a goal or objective that we wish ...

and pinch hitting role for the 1962 Indians, Green hit 11 home runs in just 143

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

— one for every 13 ABs — and equalled his 1958 batting mark of .281. The following year, however, he struggled to get untracked in Cleveland; batting only .205 with two homers in 78 at bats on August 1, Green was traded to the Reds for catcher Sammy Taylor, and he hit .226 in limited service in what would be his last year in the majors. Green spent 1964 in the minors before leaving the professional game completely. Gene Green died in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, at the age of 47.

Statistical overview

Green was below-average defensively in the

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In bat and ball games ...

(.963) and adequate at catcher. He was often used as a pinch hitter during his career. His career totals include 408 games played, 307 hits, 46 home runs, 160 RBI, a .441 slugging percentage, and a lifetime betting average of .267. Career highlights include one four-hit game — two doubles and two

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

(June 8, 1958), 13 three-hit games, with the most impressive being two home runs and a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, good for five runs batted in vs. the Indians (June 27, 1961), and two home runs against his old team, the Senators, good for four RBI (August 12, 1962).

Retrosheet Retrosheet is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose website features box scores of Major League Baseball (MLB) games from 1906 to the present, and play-by-play narratives for almost every contest since the 1930s. It also includes scores fr ...

Top Performances for Gene Green
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Gene 1933 births 1981 deaths Ardmore Cardinals players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Los Angeles Cincinnati Reds players Cleveland Indians players Columbus Cardinals players Fresno Cardinals players Indianapolis Indians players Macon Peaches players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball right fielders Miami Marlins (International League) players Paducah Chiefs players Rochester Red Wings players St. Louis Cardinals players Washington Senators (1961–1971) players 20th-century American sportsmen